Monica Steimle-App joined Rockford in 2017 as Director of Property Management. As Director, Monica manages a team of more than 25 and a real estate portfolio of more than 2.4 million square feet. Read on for her advice to young people looking to get more involved in the community.

At Rockford, we take many precautions to prepare for the safest possible outcome. But our team can’t do this work alone; we need your help. I encourage you to reflect on how thankful you are for your own safety and wellbeing, and know that it is always important to put safety, health, and wellness at the forefronts of our minds.

Rachel Scott, Director of Development Services for Rockford’s Real Estate Development team says, “Rockford has a civic focus and a genuine interest in bettering its environment, and the fact that they stand for quality. I wanted to join a company that was best at what it does. Because I always try to learn from the best.”

This summer, we intentionally set aside time to reflect on our values. But if there’s one thing we learned, it’s that living out our values is not, and should not be, a one-time thing — it should be embedded into our culture and at the forefront of all we say and do.

Realizing that the construction industry has lagged behind other industries in attracting females to the workforce, Rockford has worked hard to successfully recruit and retain a great number of female team members including project coordinators, project managers, superintendents, and executive team leaders. Over the next few months, we’ll share thoughts and stories from some of our own female team members as we explore what it’s like to be a woman thriving in the construction industry. Today we start with insights from Rockford’s CFO, Julie Towner.

To our clients — and sometimes even ourselves — “Beautiful Outcomes” might conjure up images of the final project. But they are so much more than that. They are the result of smart, safe, and collaborative efforts. Whether you’re helping a trade contractor or client, a tenant or internal team member, we believe that beautiful outcomes happen every day.

Providing built-in value means that we proactively anticipate needs before they’re needed, and problems before they’re a problem. It means leveraging lessons learned into new solutions. It’s about stepping out of our comfort zones to tackle new problems and create new possibilities — to make things better, safer, and more sustainable. This month, we asked our team to think of ways they can create built-in value, and then act on them.

For educational construction and renovations, there is no quick and simple summer schedule. Students are spending more time in the classroom each year, and schools continue to look at balanced calendar programs, summer school programs, or revenue-generating uses of the building like summer day camps. With rising complexities to this type of project, what steps can we take to ensure success over the summer?

As business thought leaders, we inspire change and drive innovation. We push forward groundbreaking ideas to make contributions that change the creativity, productivity, and functionality of built spaces. Being business thought leaders means we’re not just builders and doers – we’re solutionists.

In all that we do, we strive to be business thought leaders, provide built-in value, deliver beautiful outcomes, and create places with soul. These cornerstones represent the tradition of Rockford, the service attitude we embody, the experiences we create for our clients, and the benefits we give back to the community. They are our values and our commitment to our clients and each other.

Earlier this year, Rockford announced a new “Volunteer Time Off” policy that offers employees a full, paid day to volunteer for a charity of their choice. Some team members recently used their VTO to volunteer with Habitat for Humanity of Kent County.

Aside from strict deadlines and tight budgets, there are hundreds of considerations that go into planning for academic spaces and, in my opinion, ensuring the security and safety of the students is the most important one.

Today’s healthcare, education, and workplace spaces are changing, and trends in laboratory facility design continue to evolve in similar ways. Read more about the key requirements that are driving current laboratory planning trends.

As the first Universally Designed building in the world, the Mary Free Bed YMCA helps reveal the ways in which design can increase diversity and participation, while decreasing the stigma and segregation of traditional fitness centers.